With just about a month remaining for the start of the 2023 F1 season, teams are gearing up to unleash their potential. While the battle lines are drawn, team bosses have started their mind games already. Especially it is Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who expects that his team will return to the championship fight in the upcoming season. But, can the Silver Arrows tackle the supremacy of Christian Horner and Co.? It may be a hot topic of discussion, but Toto thinks it’s a waste of time to talk about Horner as he focuses on bringing Mercedes back to the top.

As per Planet F1, speaking in an interview with the Times, Wolff said, “I am living in his [Christian Horner’s] head rent-free. The guy is obsessed. Every second that I spend on talking about Horner is a waste of time in my life.” 

The Mercedes boss has been consistently in a war of words with Christian Horner in the last 2 years. And with this fresh swipe, he certainly has drawn the first blood against Horner in 2023.

While Red Bull and Mercedes battled it out for the 2021 world title, Toto and Christian were perhaps two battering rams. With them constantly trading verbal blows, the season heated up with both team bosses looking to take the championship. Eventually, it was sort of a stalemate. As Mercedes won the constructors’ championship, while RBR took the drivers’ championship.

Even during the budget cap saga, Toto Wolff was vocal about a severe punishment for the Milton Keynes team. If the 2023 season heats up as a title battle between these two teams again, Wolff and Horner are not backing down to continue their psychological mind games.

“What a F**king A*sehole. But…”: Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff Describes His Equation With Red Bull F1 Arch-Nemesis Christian Horner

Though, for continuing those mind games, Toto needs to ensure that the Brackley team covers up the pace deficit to Red Bull’s car. Unless the W14 can match the RB19, there is little chance of Mercedes challenging for the 2023 title.

Can Toto Wolff lead Mercedes to another F1 championship in 2023?

There has been an air of positivity in the Brackley camp as they hope to bury the ghosts of 2022. But, Toto Wolff still needs to motivate his team enough to revamp the car performance and return to the top.

Recently, Wolff has been wary of the fact that they may not hit the ground running in 2023. There is still a skepticism that the Silver Arrows may still be slightly off the pace from Red Bull. So, it may be another grinding first half of the season, when Ferrari and RBR could take early honors in the championship.

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But even Wolff knows Mercedes’s strengths of getting stronger as the season progresses. So it may not matter if the W14 is slower at the beginning of the season. It will matter when they start getting peak performance and win races to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari.

Of course, a combination of the technical leaders, Toto Wolff, and the incredible consistency of Lewis Hamilton have to work in tandem to achieve this. But, if we look at just the past few seasons, if any team can do this, it’s Mercedes!

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The priority for Toto Wolff will be to look at the technical side and get the W14 up to speed as soon as possible. Toto would certainly want Hamilton to be in the title fight this year for getting redemption for himself and Mercedes. Do you think Toto and Lewis can lead the Silver Arrows to another championship?